Please help me understand I saw this paragraph(no more detailed context), and there are some places I cannot make clear. ------------------------------- she wrote, she'd be too preoccupied with her e

yhemusa

Please help me understand I saw this paragraph(no more detailed context), and there are some places I cannot make clear. ------------------------------- she wrote, she'd be too preoccupied with her exams and papers to really show us around but neither of us did << 1. DID WHAT?>>. The first summer after she left, she came east for a month, staying with my grandmother in Hartford, but I refused to see her, refused to even discuss it with anyone, and although I heard hushed conversations between my father and her over the phone, I surmised that she'd decided I was old enough to decide for myself if I wanted to see her, an awareness<<2. WHAT DOES AWARENESS REFER TO?>> that left me even more miserable than had she or my father insisted<< 3.INSIST ON WHAT?>>. --------------------- Tentatively, are possible there some problems with the expression in this paragraph, which make the author not so clear to be understand?

Dec 5, 2016 8:44 AM

Answers · 12

Hello, there is a chunk of text missing which would help us! 'In the letters my mother invited us to visit ........but neither of us did' - ie neither of us visited her. 'the awareness' - is the awareness that her mother has decided she was old enough to make her own decisions. 'than she or my father insisted' - insisted that I go to see her Hope this helps Bob

December 5, 2016

Awareness refers to the speaker being aware of the conversations and the fact that "she'd decided I was old enough to decide for myself if I wanted to see her". The speaker is aware of the decisions being made in secret. Insist on the speaker seeing "her" (the speaker's mother perhaps??) The speaker says the mother (?) wanted to let the speaker decided whether or not to see her. The speaker said she would have been less miserable if the mother hadn't let the decision up to the speaker. The speaker thinks it would be better if the mother and father forced the speaker to see the mother (or whoever it is). The "did" confuses me too. Maybe it should be were? It seems like something is missing...some sort of context.

December 5, 2016